He said they would leave after the documentation process pertaining to their release had been completed.

“They cannot be released immediately. The documentation process has to be completed first. We will release all of them tomorrow after the documentation process has been completed,” he said when contacted by Bernama here.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak, in his maiden address over television last night as the new prime minister, had announced the immediate release of the 13 ISA detainees.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, in a statement yesterday, said two Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders, V Ganabatirau and R Kenghadharan, are among the detainees to be released. They had been held since 13 Dec 2007.

The others to be released include seven members of the Darul Islam group — Binsali Omar, A. Artas A. Burhanudin, Idris Lanama, Francis Indanan, Mohd Nazri Dollah, Pakana Selama and Mohd Arasad Patangari — who were detained in 2006 and were to have been held until the end of next year.

Also to be released are three foreigners — Sundaraj Vijay of India) and San Khaing and Amir Hussain of Myanmar — who were detained in 2007 for falsifying documents, and one member of the Jemaah Islamiah — Wan Amin Wan Hamat — who was detained in 2003 and was to have been held until 2011. —Bernama